| Hitnrun Phase One (commonly known as Hitnrun) is the 38th full-length studio album by Prince. It has been announced as an exclusive on the Tidal streaming platform where it was made available starting on 7 September, 2015. A CD release has been confirmed in France, however, with a release date of 25 September, 2015 (the CD was at one point also been listed on Amazon.co.uk as an import, with an earlier release date of 15 September, 2015).
The album title suggests a connection with Prince's various "hit n' run" one-off shows - a term he has used since the Spring 1986 series of short-notice shows prior to the Parade Tour - this is a studio album recorded and produced in similar fashion to his other recent work, however. Having been announced before its release, the title also doesn't reflect the album's release strategy, and the tracks themselves were recorded over an extensive period of time, so the title does not refer to a quick recording process either.
Recording process
Much of the album is believed to have been recorded in early-to-mid 2015 at Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA. Some tracks were recorded earlier, however. 1000 X's & O's was originally recorded as A 1,000 Hugs And Kisses in late April or early May, 1992 at Studios 301, Sydney, Australia, with Rosie Gaines on lead vocals (during the same set of sessions as Goldnigga, Deuce & A Quarter, Goldie's Parade, Everybody Get On Up and Baby Doll). In late 1993 or early 1994 Rosie Gaines' vocals were replaced by Nona Gaye at Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA, and her version was intended for a planned project titled MPLS, but this project remained unfinished. Around the same time, however, it was considered for inclusion on a proposed album by Nona Gaye, but this was also left unfinished. The version included here is thought to be a new recording from Autumn 2014, however. Fallinlove2nite was recorded in late 2013 for Prince's appearance on the TV series New Girl, with horn and string overdubs recorded in December, 2013. Shut This Down is believed to have been recorded in Spring 2014. This Could Be Us was originally recorded in Spring 2014 and released on Art Official Age (as This Could Be Us), before it was remixed in 2014 or early 2015 with additional overdubs. Similarly, Mr. Nelson contains significant components of Clouds, originally recorded in Spring or Summer 2014 and originally released on Art Official Age, before additional work was done in 2014 or early 2015 to create the new track.Ain't About To Stop and X's Face were originally recorded in Summer 2014. Million $ Show was recorded in early 2015. Hardrocklover and June were recorded on the same day in late June, 2015. Nothing is currently known about the recording date of Like A Mack.
During the announcement of the album, Hannah Welton-Ford announced that the album was recorded solely by Prince and Joshua Welton, indicating that the 3rdEyeGirl band was not involved in the album.
She also announced that the album was played in full during a DJ set by Joshua Welton following Prince and 3rdEyeGirl's private show celebrating African-American Music Appreciation Month, hosted by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama in the East Room of The White House in Washington, D.C., on 13 June, 2015, indicating that the album was complete at that time.
The album contains a few female guest vocalists. Judith Hill appears on Million $ Show. British singer Rita Ora appears on Ain't About To Stop, which was originally recorded for her own second album. British folk/soul singer/songwriter Lianne La Havas appears (sampled from Clouds) on Mr. Nelson. Interestingly, American singer-songwriter Zooey Deschanel's vocals from the single version of Fallinlove2nite were removed for the track's inclusion on the album; perhaps because that version was closely tied to Prince's appearance on the TV show New Girl, on which Deschanel is the lead actress, and his appearance was 18 months prior to the album's release.
Promotion
The album was first announced during an interview by Hannah Welton-Ford on BBC 6music on 24 July, 2015. An article on the BBC News Entertainment & Arts website followed the same day. Another interview by the 3rdEyeGirl band with BBC 6music DJ Liz Kershaw was announced for the following day to discuss the album further, but this was then postponed to either 8 or 15 August, 2015 (this did not end up taking place).
In the two weeks prior to the album's availability on Tidal, several newspapers and music websites ran interviews with Joshua Welton, which were held at Paisley Park Studios. Prince dropped in briefly during each interview. Curiously, reporters were asked not to name any tracks on the album other than those already confirmed at the time (Hardrocklover, This Could B Us and 1000 X's & O's.
Three singles from the album have been released to date: Fallinlove2nite was released 18 months before the album (prior to the release of the two previous studio albums, in fact, with no album announced at the time of the single's release), although the version used on the single contained additional vocals by Zooey Deschanel and was released close to Prince's appearance on the TV show New Girl, on which Deschanel is the lead actress; Hardrocklover was released ten weeks before the album's release (although no album was announced at the time of the single's release); This Could B Us was released two weeks prior to the album's availability on Tidal.
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2014: Art Official Age ◄
